but it's just coming to light this morning. good morning, everybody. we begin this wednesday with a surprise visit to survivors of the colorado shooting rampage. . christian bale, the "batman" star, spent time with victims in aurora, the same day a birth gave hope to many in the shattered community. >> reporter: it won't take away the pain but it might help. "batman" himself. or the actor who plays him. christian bale visited victims. bail showed up without a camera crew. so the cell phone pictures taken by survivors are the only pictures. christine baits met bail. the actor also stopped by the memorial for the 12 people killed in the massacre.

the denver broncos also made the rounds, trying to comfort survivors. >> this is our community. we have to come together during the tough times. >> reporter: there's more uplifting news. hugo jackson medley was born yesterday. his parents were at the movie theater when the chaos broke out. his mom was uninjured but dad lost an eye and is it frightening for his life. amanda's boyfriend sacrificed himself to save her. >> he pulled me down. and he covered my head. >> get down. okay. >> i did. >> disturbing new details about the man who allegedly carried out the massacre have come out. abc news has learned that inside the aurora police headquarters in the hours after the shooting, james holmes was staring at the wall. his eyebrows twitching.

even used evidence bags as hand puppets. holmes will be charged monday. tahman bradley, abc news. >> and gun sales in colorado are surging in the wake of the deadly rampage. in three days, the bureau of investigation gave the okay on background checks on 3,000 people who want to buy guns. a 43% jump from the weekend before. and one final note. dc comics is delaying the cammic that was supposed to be today. because of what may be content that's perceived as insensitive. turning to other news, tensions boiled over in anaheim where police and protesters squared off. demonstrators took to the streets for the fourth night following two deadly police shootings last weekend including a killing of an unarmed man. fires were set, fights broke out

and rocks and bottles tossed. a dramatic police foot chase ended with a deadly plunge in niagara falls. a man was running from a cop where he jumped into the niagara gorge, the officer then jumped in after him. the suspect died. the officer was lifted to safety suffering a broken leg. now overseas to syria where the violence is escalating for the battle of that country's largest city. the military was pounding the city. warplanes circling above, white the battle rages there. government forces now appear to have the upper hands in the capital of damascus. on the campaign trail. mitt romney arrives in london today, the first stop in a three nation overseas trip. before leaving he addressed veterans of foreign wars convention and accused obama

white house officials of betrying the country. saying they leaked secrets to score points. >> whoever leaked classified information must be exposed, dismissed and punished. the time for stonewalling is over. >> romney also demanded that a special independent council be appointed to investigate. meantime the white house is pushing back against romney's accusations, saying the president has no tolerance for leaks. the president makes campaign stops in new orleans and will address the national urban league convention there. speaking of new orleans, the police didn't is bracing for a sweeping overhaul, aimed at wiping out decades of corruption and mismanagement. eric holder signed a decree said to be the toughest imposed on a law enforcement agency.

>> it reaffirmed the justice department's commitment to fair and vigorous law enforcement at any left. to work alongside federal, state and local authorities to protect not only the safety but essential civil rights of everyone in this country. >> the agreement still needs to be approved by a federal judge who will also oversee its implementation. the first roman catholic church official convicted in the child abuse scandal has been sentenced to three to six years in prison. a philadelphia judge lit into him for protecting priests saying he enabled monsters to destroy the souls of children. jennifer hudson's former brother-in-law was sentenced to life in prison for murdering three members of her family. she was in the courtroom where he was sentenced to three life

terms for the shooting death of her mother, brother and nephew. also a line of violent thunderstorms raked over the chicago area. leaving more than 300,000 folks without power. >> soaking rain and winds as high as 80 miles an hour, toppled trees and power poles, power may not be fully restored until friday. and they're set for really warm weather. time now for a look at weather across the country on this wednesday morning. we have more severe thunderstorms in the midwest from minneapolis to kansas city. chicago, cleveland, also pop-up showers across the south. thunderstorms in colorado, new mexico mountains and dakotas. >> a near record high of 100 in chicago. 101 in kansas city. upper 90s in atlanta and dallas and just shy of 80 in seattle. >> and when we come back this morning. a long wait to buy a new car.

>> an apple in the spotlight today after a disappointing earnings report. >> plus we remember sherman helmsley. who broke new ground on "the jeffersons" and gave us a lot of laughs along the way. [ female announcer ] now get high speed internet at home on our newly expanded advanced digital network, a connection you can count on. introducing at&t u-verse high speed internet with more speed options, reliability and wi-fi hot spots than ever.

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welcome back. everybody. well, apple seems to be a victim of its own success. shares opening lower this morning, because the company's third quarter profits were good, just not good enough.

just under $9 billion. how will they eat? analysts had expected something closer 10 billion. in ft, apple said sales are off because customers expect a new model sometime soon. and checking stocks, beginning with tokyo's nikkei average. down 122. hong kong's hang seng down 39 and footsie is lower. on wall street the dow down 104 nasdaq index lost 57. >> looks like the federal reserve will do something to stimulate the economy. they're disappointed in sluggish economic growth particularly in jobs. they can take action as soon as next week's meeting but may wait until the september meeting. >> one contributing factor to the economic sluggishness is we're not replacing our cars soing quickly. an informal survey finds four out of five drivers waiting ten years or more before buying a

new car. auto md.com said that trend is likely to continue. >> nothing better than writing off that last payment and no more car payment. >> bye-bye car payment. yeah. instead of saving money a purchase at a thrift store could make money for an aspiring artist. beth paid 10 bucks for this painting at goodwill. >> but research identified it as vertical square. it will be auctioned this fall and get this, it's expected to sell for $15,000 to $20,000. >> that's a nice roi, isn't it? >> not bad, not bad. enjoy the money. when we come back this morning. the jackson family drama is getting physical now. and a rough night at the plate. a couple of bean balls and at least one long-term injury. the details ahead from espn. . details ahead from espn. okay, team! after age 40, we can start losing muscle --

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wow. new pictures this morning of the wow. new pictures this morning of the deadly flood watters that swamped beijing this week. the raging water ripped through the city with such force, it swept away virtually everything in its path, including cars. at least 37 people were killed and bad news, more rain is on the way. now for a look at morning road conditions here at home. drenching rain soaked highways across the nation's mid section and ohio valley. wet at times in the southeast and gulf coast. a slick ride in colorado and new mexico. so hang on. if you're flying today. airport delays are possible in a few cities. minneapolis, detroit, chicago and kansas city. well, the bitter family feud involving michael jackson's siblings, his mother and children and all of the second cousins as well is intensified. things got physical. reportedly with slaps, punch, even a head lock. >> looks like a bad jerry springer episode.

things get nasty. the famous family is divided over the children's custody. a battle now playing out for all of us to see. t.j. winick has the latest. >> reporter: michael jackson's three children, paris, prince and blanket, appear caught in the middle of a full-fledged custody battle between their famous family members. this video shows the kids in the driveway of their grandmother's california estate, followed by their aunt janet, randy and jermaine. trent jackson claims jermaine and the group tried to take the kids. >> janet jackson slapped paris jackson in the face. after the slap, janet told paris you're a spoiled little [ bleep ]. paris retaliated and blasted janet back, get the "f" out of here. it was like a scene from a jerry springer show. trent punched jermaine in the mouth. and trent grabbed randy and put him in a head lock.

>> reporter: paris, prince and blanket have not seen their grandmother and current legal guardian for days. she's in arizona, and claiming that she was kidnapped. many claim it's all over money, jermaine wants a share of his dead brother's fortune. >> i believe katherine and children who are the benefactors of the estate fall on one side, and randy and jermaine and janet and tito fall on the other side. >> reporter: now according to tmz, t.j. jackson, the children's 34-year-old cousin is making a bid to become their temporary guardian. injurem jermaine claims the children are being manipulated. that they can visit katherine any time. >> grandkids respect her. when she's not there there's a void in the family. >> reporter: michael jackson's estate is worth about a billion dollars. two of his former managers will be in court asking for unpaid commission. t.j. winick, abc news, new york.

thanks to t.j. for sorting that out for us. >> another victim of a gruesome truck crash in south texas has died. police now think the accident was caused by a tire that separated. 15 people have passed away and 8 are still in this hospital after sunday's crash. all 23 people packed into the truck are believed to be illegal immigrants who had just crossed into texas. and the los angeles city is cracking down on medical marijuana shops. voting to ban hundreds of medical marijuana dispensaries across the city. some neighbors who lived near pot shops have complained. if the mayor approves this crackdown, patients and caregivers will still be allowed to grow their own. and return to the olympics, the opening ceremony is set for friday but the games start today believe it or not. six women's soccer games on the docket. >> good to know. the usa takes the field against france at noon eastern. the match is taking place not in london but glasgow scotland.

good luck to the ladies of the u.s. of a. >> here we go, olympics time. in the meantime we have highlights from last night's baseball action. it was a little rough out there. all of the highlights from espn. >> good morning, welcome to the "sportscenter" update. i'm zubin mehenti, the yankees lost much more than a game last night. let's go to the pacific northwest. top third, derek jeter, grounding into the double play. king has a 1.49 e.r.a. in the last five starts. top of the sixth. facing a-rod. the 2000th strikeout of his career. top eight. jeter, oh, boy, that was a close call. he would be fine. but this situation would be much worse. later in the inning, a-rod, look out. that's a nondisplaced fracture of the left hand. he could be out six to eight weeks. writhing in pain.

is the former seattle mariner. yankees down 3-2. bottom of the eighth, mariners take it. elsewhere, rangers/red sox in arlington. picked off by clay buchholz. kinsler not happy. ron washington comes out to argue, to no avail. eighth inning, game tied at one. it's adrian beltre in the helmet. beltre would have to leave the game. top nine. ball game still tied with two on. cashing in. grinds one over. now the score, red sox pick up the first win over the rangers this year. >> l.a./st. louis, "wednesday night baseball" tonight at 8:00 eastern on espn, espn 3 and watch espn. up next, the pulse including

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time to check "the pulse," stories we're talking about today. we start with sea world in san

diego. this happened about six years ago. we're now only seeing the video. a trainer being dragged under by a killer whale during the show. >> the trainer's name, ken peters, his feet were in the whale's mouth as it dove deep into the pool. when the whale finally surfaces, peters is able to swim to safety. he suffered deep bite marks, but returned to work soon after that incident. i don't know how he was able to do that. also this morning we're remembering sherman hemsley. the man behind tv's most loveable loud mouths. >> he played the unforgettable george jefferson moving on up. archie bunker's neighbor who moved on up to the east side. after his business took off. "the jefferson"s successful sitcom, lasted 11 noons. he also played in a sitcom "amen." his voice popped up in a number

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next, vallejo firefighters battle a blaze at a strip mall overnight. >> this morning the investigation is underway into how a probation officer shot himself during an arrest. >> meteorologist mike nicco will have the forecast. clouds thicker, temperatures cooler the next couple of days minnesota to georgia. this hot summer keeps rolling on and on. and finally, a not in my

backyard story. actually not in your backyard story. a family in michigan is crowing about their beloved pet rooster named waffle. >> neighbors say the bird has no business in town. reporter from michigan has the story. >> reporter: whether he's eating in the kitchen or strutting his stuff in the backyard. waffle is part of the family. >> he goes in and out with the dogs. it's like having another dog. >> reporter: the the 2-year-old rooster is one of the flock at the family's house. but waffle ruffled the feathers of some of the neighbors and that led an ordinance officer to cite the family with this civil infraction. township officials say families who live on less than five acres cannot have farm animals. >> i'm not farming. he's just a pet. >> it's a farm animal.

a pet is a cat or a dog, or maybe a little tiny bird in a cage. that's a farm animal. >> reporter: neighbors like chris, filed complaints. >> waffle. >> reporter: a magistrate agreed with the weedbushes and allowed them to keep waffle. but township officials say that won't fly and they're appealing the decision, arguing it's a quality of life issue for residents on the street. >> they don't want roosters kroeg in the morning. bottom line it's not allowed in a dense residential neighborhood. >> he gets noisy sometimes, but that's okay, we don't mind. >> it makes noise. any time in the day. i thought roosters crow when the sun came up. >> reporter: they had waffle since october. and got him from a family friend who raised him since he was a chick. they said they'll do whatever they can to allow him to stay here. >> it will completely destroy

our family. >> reporter: township officials want to order up this waffle to go. >> you got it right. i'm impressed. >> you got it right. i'm impressed. >> i captioned by closed captioning services, inc.